Bandits on Sunday evening raided some communities in Munya Local Government Area of Niger State, kidnapping the Catholic Parish Priest of St Mary’s Catholic Church, Sarkin Pawa, Very Rev Father Leo Raphael Ozigi, and 44 other villagers.
The Informant247 Nigeria News gathered that the Rev. Father ran into bandits operating on the Sarkin Pawa-Gwada road on his way to Gwada from Sarkin Pawa. The bandits reportedly whisked him away alongside other villagers.
A report by Daily Trust newspaper quoted a resident in the area, Shehu Abubakar, as saying 44 other abducted villagers were among those who returned to their communities from IDP camps on Saturday.
“The bandits moved freely on the road from Sarkin Pawa to Gwada unchallenged.
“We are worried because it seems our problem is yet to be over. People have just started returning on Saturday to prepare for yam plantation.
“Government encouraged us to go back to our communities that there was going to be security arrangements. People started returning on Saturday and these criminals invaded us again,” he said.
The Secretary of the Niger State Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Raphael Opawoye, confirming the incident said, “Very Rev Dr. Leo Raphael Ozigi was kidnapped on Sunday on his way back to Gwada from Sarkin Pawa after the Sunday Service.”
The Secretary, Munya Local Government, James Jagaba, described the renewed banditry operations in Munya Local Government since Saturday as pathetic.
He said, “the entire Munya Local Government is in disarray. The situation in the area is pathetic. There’s kidnap in all parts of the local government.”